mgo.licio.us

"The face of the operation is Briatore (referred to exclusively in the film by his colleagues and angry, chanting detractors as "Flavio"), an anthropomorphic radish who spends most of his time at QPR plotting to fire all of the managers."

At press time, Harbaugh had sent Michigan’s athletic department an envelope containing a heavily annotated seating chart, a list of the 63,000 seat views he had found unsatisfactory, and a glowing 70-page report on section 25, row 12, seat 9, which he claimed is “exactly what the great sport of football is all about.”

Brass balls on a middling prospect (despite the past frothing of the Sparties). Why don't you just continue parroting the RCMB party line of "we can do better" and "we're elite in recruiting now" etc. etc.

Srsly? WTF has Darrell Hazell accomplished in his career that leads me to believe that his offer would somehow validate a Michigan offer made by Jim Harbaugh after an evaluation camp combine and film evaluation by this staff?

Nonetheless, let's take a couple easy examples of your theory and look at offer validation (though I don't think it necessary):

Victor Viramontes (3 starz) Quarterback/Athlete. Probably does not play Quarterback at Michigan.

Offers of Note: Wiscy, Nebraska, Ga. Tech

I don't see the issue here if Harbaugh has a) seen his film and b) run him through a combine environment. This is how the NFL does it.

What other coach ran a combine (I mean er...Summer Swarm Tour) over multiple sites nationally to identify this talent? The is the way it's done in the NFL (in-person evaluations combined with film analysis) and how players from smaller schools like D2/D3, Canada etc. are often found.

Harbaugh has changed the narrative on recruiting, somwehat, with this combine system (I mean Summer Swarm Tour) and going forward it will be interesting to see a) the impact off this on the services who might have to work a bit more and b) the impact of this on other coaches/programs and how long it takes other schools to implement something similar. That said, Drevno could be right and maybe not all coaches have Harbaugh's ability to project talent.

FWIW, I also think the earlier poster crabbing on about STARZ and rankings and 12 players nobody wanted is ridiculously off base. Athletes like Vic Viramontes, for example, with Ga Tech, Nebraska and Wiscy offers aren't exactly nobodies...

I was going to go all TL/DR on your 17 paragaph missives but you apparently have missed the 7 year war around here on STARZ, stats and relative merit.

Here's the thing. Starz are complied by recruiting service analysts who get paid to identify talent but mostly to sell their services. Similarly, Jim Harbaugh and his staff are paid to identify talent but not so much to sell you a service but, rather, to win games and ultimately keep their jobs. As a supporter of the program you can choose to buy the services analysis of players or you can choose to buy Harbaugh's analysis of players. They are quite exclusive.

Your read on stats re: starz and related analysis is certainly simplistic. At the bottom line, however, you basically are going to trust Harbaugh (Superbowl coach, NFL talent evaluator, combine...I mean summer swarm camp...facilitator) to identify talent or you are not.

"I don't like Jim Harbaugh. Jim Harbaugh did not give me access to him or his coaches like I wanted so I'm going to write this article criticizing his and his coaches technical acumen and game management. I understand that these are the same coaches who schemed a pathetic and lost franchise to a Superbowl and multiple playoff/NFC Championship appearances. Nonetheless, this new guy, Tomasula has changed the landscape for my work environment. As a shill to hm and the York family who welcome me into their facilities I shall now write this lamentable slagging of Jim Harbaugh.

But if you look at the trajectory on Nolan Ryan's early career and Verlander they are not that far off in many ways. Ryan, however, was able to lock it down mid career as a consistent 12 to 15 win pitcher. If Verlander can learn to manage with less velocity he can be that guy and perhaps get it to 250 wins.

Mark Buehrle's career trajectory from power pitcher to control and command pitcher comes to mind and Verlander could do a lot worse going forward than running 200 innings a year for (so far) 14 years.

All of the football schools recruit in Canada; it is certainly competition for athletes. Over the past decade Laval, Western Ontario and McMaster, for example, have dedicated significant resources on that end. While university football here does not occupy the same public attention as it might in the US it is still a big deal for alumni, alumni pride etc. Players in any varsity sport in Canada can earn scholarships for tuition and it is quite competitive, the recruiting.

The most elite players do tend to go to the US but not always depending on what they want to study in school.

Hannibal has been running this same troll act on this for a while now. Where he sees negativity I see Harbaugh's manipulation of the NCAA as being crazy like a fox:

Harbaugh came from the NFL where he was used to using a combine for player evaluation with the GM and other coaches in Indy each winter. College football does not have such a combine complicating application of such an approach...

What to do?

Harbaugh sets up his own travelling combine. Sees a ton of players and offers a very small number of these who are lower ranked based on his in-person assessment and evaluation.

Random blog posters freak out.

So you either trust an in-person evaluation from the HC in a combine (I mean camp) or you don't.

My beloved Owls have actually done an excellent job in identification of quality defenders over the previous (that evil Steve Addazio) and current (Matt Rhule with Phil Snow DC) coaching administrations. Matt Rhule is hardly an offensive genius but their defensive recruiting has been very reasonable.

I am completely enthralled/perplexed/amazed with Harbaugh's approach on recruiting. Clearly he does not give a crap about recruiting sites, starz, national analysis, rankings, February championships or any of it. He is, of course, also, compellingly, the first coach to set up a multi-site, multi-state, ten day combine (I mean Michigan Summer Swarm tour) for player evaluation and recruitment (I mean, for skills development and coaching).

The results of this strategy of using an professional combine approaches (NFL/CFL) and applying the knowledge he used in the NFL probably won't be known for a few years. It is interesting that Harbaugh has not shied away from elite talent (Peters, Swenson, Onwenu, Falcon, Evans etc.) but has offered several "off the board" candidates that he has seen in this combine (I mean camp) environment.

My sense is that the guy was paid to evaluate talent at the professional level and obviously had some say in personnel in SF. I think the combine (again, camp) idea is genius.

Saban has to be kicking himself he never thought of this...then again, if he did, we'd all be pitching a fit in AA.

Hoyer did not get jobbed in Cleveland. I followed the hope that surrounded his tenure in Cleveland and, bottom line, while he seems like a really good guy, a decent citizen a good father/parent and team representative he was just not that goot at quarterbacking and was injury prone.

"Good" is a relative thing. Cook may well have a nice upside in the league.

Cousins and Hoyer are basically the same player...not good enough for even my beloved Browns (who were offered Cousins and refused...while drafting Johnny Manziel?!?) and they then let Hoyer walk. My sense is that Dantonio develops conservative game manager level qb's who fit his system. Good enough to get to the next level but not exceptional. I think Cook will be that also but time will tell.

All of this is kind of subjective. Michigan wasn't chasing Kirk Cousins either. I dislike Sparty but I can't be dismissive of their ability to develop quarterbacks. Obviously, Harbaugh has a better record of identification and development.

It will all sort itself out on the field.

I do feel kind of uncomfortable criticizing a kid who decided Michigan wasn't for him when some site ranks our new guy ahead of him. How Sparty that.

People use offensive and derrogatory language in many contexts that has nothing to do with alleged "PC" violations. It has to do with them being complete donkeys and inconsiderate or worse about other humans. If I go see an "edgy" commedian, play, visual arts display or spoken word I know what I might run into. It's art and the potential is there.

But then again, in the paleozoic era of the early 90s when I first attended university there was lots of "political correctness" and/or ease of offense. When you are 18-22 and first leave your parents house nobody else (particularly adults) knows crap from good chocolate in your view. Surrounded by dozens and with access to a student newspaper to complain about "injustice" however you see it causes this foment. Welcome to every university everywhere.

Modern era, this is magnified by social media and ease of messaging on FB or Twitter but it's the same deal.

What did he leave at Stanford? The guy took on the bully that was USC and Pete Carroll and punched them in the face. He left a completely rebuilt program that has continued on a solid trajectory under (former Harbaugh OC) David Shaw.

What was the trajectory when he took the 49ers job for Stanford? Look at their trajectory before he showed up.

Fred, I am a scientist and I can confirm for you that the recruiting services data points do not constitute "empirical data" in the purest sense and certainly not in a way that could offer experimental validation. You could argue that the services data is knowledge acquired by observation which would be definitionally accurate but your assertion that because they have those data sets (even 247's composite which is just collecting several other sets and putting them together) they show they work is inaccurate.

I kind of look at the services like a "guide" that offers an interesting insight about a potential target (thus the variance across services often) provided by several observers. The money question is if you trust more the services observers (Trieu, Beaver etc.) or Michigan's highly paid coaching observers. Basically, it's trust the coaches vs starz from journalists/experienced observers.

Obviously, one set have a lot more on the line but each of us has to make a choice on who to trust.

Yeah, medical and psychiatric professionals who diagnose, work with families and children with these conditions and try to be respectful and not stigmatizing to those individuals. Wow, respecting people at a principle level has been successful. Damn.

It's easy to thoughtfully argue at a philosophical level, as you have about word meanings. It's a lot different to look across the table at a family whose child is developmentally delayed and discuss with them the implications of that diagnosis and how their young person will be treated.

I hope if this ever happens to your family (or Magnus who began this debate) that people will have the kindness not to label your child or relation with such language but, rather, to treat your family with respect choosing person first language. Perhaps ypu should look up that term and/or the impacts of stigma on child development.

It's not tangential. Respect for people who have disability is not a tangent and, bottom line, Magnus and his defenders can plainly do better here. This isn't about language policing or political correctness, it's plainly about respect.

For the people who have a child, a son or daughter, a loved one with a developmental disability use of the term "retard" is hurtful, offensive, stigmatizing and cruel. And for the many posters I have read on here defending Magnus' use of the term "retard" they ignore the decades of accrued social meaning for those families and their children who are not, in fact, "retarded" but are through no choice of their own (unlike Minnick) developmentally disabled secondary to neurological differences which occur in fetal development.

The use, or in Magnus' case, misapplication of the term "retard" speaks, regrettably, to his insensitivity and dare I say, ignorance, in this matter. He can cheaply parse it with precise dictionary definitions all he wants but the societal application of the term "retard" since it's introduction just after 1961 into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual has related to stigmatizing a population group due to their illness then termed "mental retardation" (which itself, sadly, was an alleged improvement on feeblemindedness, idiocy and mental subnormality). To call someone a "retard" then and now contained stigma and a contextually negative social meaning. To ignore this just further stigmatizes that group.

Over the past two decades medical, psychiatric and other professionals have abandoned this term due to it's negative implications toward a population group who are developmentally disabled. The term has been removed from the DSM (as of DSM V) and International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).

I often enjoy Magnus' comments and insight on recruiting. He has some talent in those areas but in this one he can do better. Regrettably, his use of the term "retard" is plainly offensive and ignores the social and historica context surrounding that term. Magnus can do better and respect those families impacted by this issue.

Mo was an excellent coach and it's regrettable that, like many of us, he got ridiculously drunk at one point and acted the fool. Worse, I suppose, because he was head football coach at Michigan under an AD who wasn't having any of that.

I commented about Moeller because, plainly, Minnick's issue in 2015 is at least as egregious (moreso if you consider that Moeller was not about to drive) but in the modern era he gets the pass.

I don't really get this sentiment. Dantonio and Sparty will continue to be a bother to Michigan going forward (hell, Lloyd had his losses to Sparty) but Jim Harbaugh will, bottom line, cause significant problems for the football program in East Lansing.

Pete Carroll can attest to what it's like having Harbaugh as your rival. This is Dantonio's future but with less talent than at USC.

I don't really know if the Indy 500 really made the sport tick or not. With the change came a loss of most premier drivers to NASCAR and relegation to god damned versus. Sure, he had a keystone but the value of it slipped through his hands like sand...much to NASCAR's benefit.

If soccer had two competing world cups but one had most of UEFA, the US, Korea, Australia, Brazil and some of South America it would not kill the sport. Media markets and sponsors run that deal. Nike, VISA, Adidas etc. would go with wherever the major media markets and tv went...that's not with FIFA.

Blatter has to see the writing on the wall and wonder what the hell to do...

Tony George's seceding from CART was a clusterfcuk of epic proportions leaving two groups of owners with very different visions (CART being more road racing vs. IRL/IndyCar as ovals mostly) competing and splicing the sport for years. What it led to was, essentially, the death of open wheel racing in North America (save for the periodic competing F1 appearance anually in Montreal and for a time at Indy). Indy Racing League (IRL) and now Indycar took a competitive series with varied set ups/power/drivers/powerplants and consolidated with crap designs they uniformed for every team. Oh, and they were competitively corrupt...look up Paul Tracy and the Indianapolis 500 and see what happened.

Bottom line, Tony George's power play didn't really work out as it splintered the series and has left Indycar (once a regular feature on ABC) with only one major tv date and shown on Versus/NBCSN or, god help me, CNBC if rodeo or something more popular is available. The split in Indycar coincided with the rise of NASCAR (a network darling). In the modern era NASCAR matters...Indycar, sadly, doesn't.

I don't know much about soccer either (except to support England and ManCity). Sure, Tony George recognized CART wouldn't survive without Indy but, bottom line, what the hell does he have left? Four weeks in May and a sport Danica Patrick and Tony Stewart (among others) left for NASCAR. Open wheel is a shell of what it once was...and as a fan that sucks.

I do think UEFA could succeed vs. FIFA but for different reasons. UEFA would take a significant number of the top 30 teams in the world. IRL, in splitting with CART did not...they just took the vest venue. Big difference in what you're referencing.

Winning will bring people back in droves. Those who boiught in this year (on the 3 pack deal from last year or for $150 in April) have bought low. There will be demand. An MNC in the next 10 years and you have to be looking at 120k

Peruse the comments section during the Olympics when my fellow Canadias were *definitely* going to lose to a) the Americans; b) the Russians and c) the Swedes. The pressure on the head coach of the Canadian team is unbelievable and, unlike the American team which is an interesting anecdote on the sporting landscape, the analysis of the Canadian team (inclusions/exclusions/coaching staff etc.) is a months long media exercise.

Babcock's Canadian team won with ridiculously effective defensive play in the last Olympics. That was application of his systems. He got buy in from the best players in the world to stop their usual roles and embrace defensive hockey (see Jamie Benn, Ryan Getzlaff and Corey Perry on a 2nd line and Patrick Marleau, Jonathan Toews and Jeff Carter on the checking line). Players win games. They won at the Olympics, handily, using Babcock's system.

Pat Burns owned Toronto. I don't see any reason why Babcock can't have the same sort of impact and/or relationship with the media. Burns was at turns surly and irritable yet he won games and was beloved by the fanbase.

The guy is going to get paid a zillion dollars in Toronto. If he wins a cup in Toronto he'll be sainted, schools will be named after him and he'll get his own postage stamp.

It's hard to describe the impact that winning a cup in Toronto would have professionally for him. Babcock is, I am sure, a confident guy. He could see where winning a cup in Toronto and ending the streak of horror would place him in the hockey pantheon. If someone is going to pay you like that to try, why not?

I'm sorry I didn't clarify that Les Miles did not become our coach. The "new Carr Les Miles" meme was a constant in the 06/07 MGoEra with the feelings of many in the fanbase along the lines of "we can do better" than Carr (having of course been in the conversation for a MNC game in 06).

The meme led to joyous celebration from many (I was admittedly hopeful) about RR. New isn't always better. But good luck replacing a Stanley Cup winner with your minor league championship coach.

As a Leafs/Browns/Cavs/Tribe fan I've seen more than my share of suffering these past years. Michigan used to be...well, Michigan. I'm hopeful about Harbaugh (got season tix, how about you?) and Babcock the same way.

The bottom line is that no matter how much people here try to convince themselves that somehow their team is better with Blashill running things they are completely wrong. You don't lose a Stanley Cup winning coach, an Olympic Gold medal winning coach and hell, a CIS winning coach and not be worse for it.

As a Leafs fan I was pretty pleased with Babcock's decision to move to the centre of the hockey universe. Like it or not, that is Toronto. I think Wings fans (current vintage) all forget the Dead Wings era from 67 to 82 or even the early Yzerman years with one star player and nothing else through the early 90's. If people are glad to see Babcock go I think they should think about a saying typed often on these boards in the middle of the last decade "We need a new Carr with Les Miles". I think we all know how that worked out.

Michigan has been down for about 8 years (miss you Lloyd). Harbaugh, for all of his Superbowl appearances, NFL coordinators, and development of ProBowl players still has ground to make up. It is what it is.

The UA stuff for Temple (which I buy in volume as a alumni though not in quantites that you buy Michigan gear), Northwestern and of late ND is excellent. Good quality, fits correctly, lasts for years and is huge with the young people (except you, WD, except you).

I think that comment is a bit of smoke and mirrors and here is why: last season there was an email sent from Michigan to former ticket purchasers that if they bought a select pack of tickets that they would have the opportunity to buy season tickets this year (note, not mention of either donation or psd). I would think that there would be some traction on that and that a "list" was created from those individuals who wanted to get season tickets (probably not gigantic, though)

Most recently, Michigan has been sending the letter the OP mentioned to past ticket purchasers who have an online account with Michigan (several of my relations received it) and it indicates that the minimum donation is $150 while stating, plainly, that every effort will be made to get donors of that level season tickets. They make no guarantees but this would be a plane skywriting level error in marketing if they solicited donations, intimated the likelihood of season tickets and then pulled the carpet on it. Brandon, perhaps...Hackett, no.

So Hackett has his "list" from the 3-pack buyers last fall and pretty much all the new donors at $150 (a couple people I know have done this recently) so he's not exactly lying about it. He's just kind of not telling how he got the list to form...

FWIW, I think this is a good idea for Michigan. Despite the Harbaugh factor there is a real difference between drawing 60 k for a free spring game and 109 k (at $65 a ticket for UNLV). Brandon was not wrong about the competition being my 55 inch, recliners and bottle of Glenlivet 18 (necessary for the last several years) with a large glass. Hackett has made every effort to engage potential season ticket holders and, in the current economic climate, probably has to...

With the translation of success from college to the pros that both Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly have had and the ongoing success of Nick Saban at Alabama I think there has been some bridging of the divide between college and the NFL. Obviously, HBO has an axe to grind here as an NFL "partner" (albeit a minor one).

I haven't seen so much coverage on Harbaugh going back to the NFL as much as a view that he gave AA the "hometown discount" and sheer incredulousness from shield shilling analysts that thats is such an incredible move.

Okay, now you're just being ridiculous. You are intimating that starzzz are an objective factor?. Exactly how do you think the sites arrive at star rankings, anyway? Jeebus.

FWIW, there is a rather large difference between trusting the coaches and expecting them to do their job. Harbaugh is well compensated at $6 mil per year and part of his job description involves bringing the best talent to Michigan so he can coach them to win games. Period.

The interesting thing is that he and the staff ultimately decide what that means in terms of "best" and his job performance (like Brady Hoke's) will ultimately be determined in wins/losses. I never said "trust the coaches" but I will say, as I have said before, that it is my expectation that Harbaugh does his job and brings in talent to win games. If he wants to pin his credibility on this young man and the others he recruits, well, fair enough...it's on him.

He's going to think that there are mostly reasonable fans who look big picture at Harbaugh's success in both college and the NFL and assume he has some credibility in giving the offer. He's also going to think that there is an irrational bunch of jackass fans around who post negatively (he's going to search "three star mafia" on Brian's site) who are motivated by irrational anger at the team's performance since 1997, who feel entittled to "all the starzzzzz" and for whom Trieu, Wiltfong and top 247 lists are the only true arbiters of talent.

OP, what the hell are you talking about..."teams with no history, no equity and no brand". That is the most ridiculous assessment of the Browns.

While Browns management have historically been legendarily inept (see Modell, Art; Policy, Carmen; Clark, Dwight; Holmgren, Paul and on and on) they retain the equity of the NFL's most loyal fanbase. These are the same fans who supported the return of the team to Cleveland (our team/our colors) whose history beyond the 64 NFL Championship and the greatest of all time Jim Brown is one only of suffering: the Drive, the Fumble and Red Right 88 to start.

The Browns could just model their modern stuff on the '64 championship gear and I'd be more than happy with that. They don't need to be Oregon.

Seems like what you're saying is more like if "you don't like this country in the same way that *I* or those that *I* agree with in *my* own socio-cultural and political worldview/values then you should leave".

Thematically, this somewhat rigid view of "liking" school, movie, nation dseems quite inconsistent with the historical American narrative. Just saying.

Says a guy with a Wings photo in his profile. Toronto can offer him money, term and control. If Shanahan is willing to move Nonis and give Babcock personnel control this is a very different situation for him. I do not think he would come to Toronto in a million years for anything less than huge money, term and total personnel control.

The current state of the Leafs roster is, evidently, terrible but control and money might inform a different set of decisions for Babcock. That's not delusion, it's fact. Of course the Toronto media is focused on hockey; despite the brutal nature of the Leafs for a thousand years the passion of that fanbase is unmatched. I'm old enough to have lived in Windsor in the 80's and recall the 80's and early 90's Wings teams (see Larson, Reed) and the very empty Tampa like JLA. Those teams, and the Wings in general, were as bad as this generation of the Leafs. I find the arrogance of Wings fans of the current era kind of amusing given this parallel.

Bottom line, if Babcock were to come to Toronto and win he'd be sainted. He can't ever achieve anything like that in Detroit. I think he probably doesn't go to Toronto but he'd have compelling reasons to think about it.

Take off your Wings fan glasses. If people think Toronto won't be a realistic option or a serious factor in this thing then they are delusional. Toronto can offer roster control (by eliminating Dave Nonis) which Babcock won't ever get with Detroit and they have the ability to pay him ridiciulous amounts of money with term (neither Pittsburgh or Edmonton have these types of resources). Is that the right move? Hard to say. On the other hand, the guy who actually wins consistently with the Leafs will be sainted like a combination of Bo/Return of Harbaugh (only more sainted and twice as beloved).

A couple things, actually. You said it yourself "great evaluator of talent"...it's funny that the opposite of your take here was often a criticism of Hoke's recruiting: "he gets 4 and 5 stars who play like 3 stars". That and the criticism about not developing talent.

Harbaugh has Hoke's 4 and 5 star classes and a record of developing NFL talent. It will be interesting to see how he makes that talent develop. He has a record of having a good eye for talent and building programs. Obviously, Michigan has offered a high volume of 4 star players in the current cycle. I'm not totally a "trust the coaches" guy but Harbaugh has a lot more credibility than any board poster or, god help me, Trieu, Wiltfong, Webb et al. in talent evaluation. It's not like "oh noes we don't have any talent...".

Complicating matters, as high profile and great as the Harbaugh hire has been...Michigan football has been crappy for almost a decade. Kids were young when Lloyd was relevant in 06 and tOSU just won a National Championship. I'd say slow your roll on expectations until Harbaugh wins 9 or 10 games next fall....

The moment you say "no disrespect to those other professions" you completely disrespect all those other professions while wholly ignoring their capacity and the complete f'n grind it is to complete a doctorate.

Nonetheless, I'll still be pleased to be "Dr. clarkiefromcanada" (scientist type doctor and faculty member)

I won't be taking care of a whole person any time soon but presumably my scientific contributions might just add up to "doctor".